Emissions Mapped Out [Video]

When I discuss the environment in my classes, I think it is important to show students how this issue is truly global. I was watching last night's episode of The Daily Show where this video showing worldwide emissions was featured.  I think it can be a very powerful tool to show students the differences between developed and developing nations.

Global Inequality & iPhones [Video]

This short Nightline Video is a great way to engage students in a discussion of Global Inequality. The piece is short (about 15 minutes) and touches on several sociological concepts, making it a great tool to start a discussion on this topic.

• I like to ask students to think about the differences between producing and consuming countries when they watch this video. We talked about those conditions but we also talk about what prevents the producers( Chinese workers ) and/or the consumers (the students themselves) from demanding better wages/conditions. 
• I especially like to push students on their role in this system and one way to do that is to pair the Nightline video with other photos/videos showing people in developed countries waiting in line/camping overnight/and fighting for thew new iPhone. Here's an example, but you can probably find something more current: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/09/scuffles-arrests-at-pasadena-apple-stores-iphone-5s-launch/
• The clip also covers the suicides of many workers and so can also tie in with ideas about Durkeim/suicide/anomie.

If you are  going to watch this in class, you should also check out the iEconomy series produced by the NY Times in 2013.  Much of the journalists' work is still relevant. You'll find potentially readings and other interactive features here that you can use in your class: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/business/ieconomy.html?_r=0


Shout out to my colleague Dr. George Gonzalez who sent the Nightline video a while back.

Map of Social Inequality using Human Development Indicators [Interactive Graphic]

How does the United States rank on measures of health, education, gender inequality, poverty, and other human development indicators in comparison to other countries around the world?  Use this interactive map and data from the United Nations Development Programme to help students get a better grasp on the “big picture” of social inequalities.

Link: http://hdr.undp.org/en/data/map

"The Danger of A Single Story": the problem with stereotypes [Video]

In this video of novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche's lecture "The Danger of A Single Story" she beautifully discusses the potential for misunderstanding and stereotypes that arises when we only hear one story about a place or type of people.  I use the first 5 (or so) minutes of the video to spark a class discussion about the kinds of "single stories" students may have come across (or assumptions people have made about them using a "single story").  This exercise could be useful in a wide range of classes from intro, to gender/sexuality, to race/class/ethnicity, etc.

Link to video: http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/transcript?language=en#t-0

Sports Migration [Interactive Map]

Sports Migration is a very interesting concept and useful for getting students to talk about global inequality, global capitalism, and the global economy.  Students may not realize how many athletes are migrants. What countries send players? What countries receive them?

There are many great examples of sports migration in the major professional leagues of baseball, basketball, and hockey but these pale in comparison to soccer.

Slate put together this cool interactive map - and it is great way to visualize what is happening with sport migration. You can select a certain country and then see if that country is sending players out or receiving them. You can also watch a time lapse video to see how the trend has changed over time. Have fun teaching globalization with soccer!

Interactive Soccer Migration Map

Check out this example map:

White People Problems [Comedy]

Here's Louis CK with a hilarious bit on what he calls White People Problems. (Very similar to first world problems). A good ice breaker for any discussions on global inequality, global poverty, or outsourcing.

Louis C.K.: Hilarious
Get More: Watch More Stand-Up.

Women's Economic Opportunity Index: A Global Exploration [Video]

This video provides a rapid overview of a variety of measures of women’s economic opportunities in multiple countries around the world. It uses visual comparisons of countries, allowing students to gain a sense of where the U.S. ranks relative to other countries. Although focused on the economy and participation in the workforce, the video highlights social and legal gender inequalities that are interconnected to economic inequalities.

Link: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=p5wRMaEmf6c

Gender Gaps in PhDs [Interactive Graphic]

 Scientific American recently published an article on the PhD gender gap. The article included an interactive feature where students can look at the gender difference in PhD by country (56 nations are included) and also by subject area.   If you plan to talk about the underepresentation of women in certain subject areas OR if you plan to talk about global differences in gender roles, this tool should help your students visualize the differences.

(Link here: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-nations-fare-in-phds-by-sex-interactive/)

Compare countries on key OECD indicators [Data]

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) provides data on this website to make graphic comparisons among countries on the following indicators:

• Agriculture
• Education
• Health
• Poverty and Inequality
• Taxation
• Development
• Employment
• Migration
• Quality of Life
• Trade
• Economic Projections
• Environment
• Pensions
• Regulation

Link to the data: http://www.oecd.org/statistics/compare-your-country.htm

Terrorism [Interactive Map]

This interactive map was published by the data  visualization folks at Periscopic.  This map uses information from the global terrorism database to look at terrorism events from 1970-2013.




If you click on a terrorist organization, the map will focus on the geographic regions where the incidents  occurred. You can also use the slider bars to look at certain years. This would be useful to talk about the scope and reach of terrorism - and to link that discussion to one on global inequality.

There is A LOT of information here and it can feel overwhelming but it is a useful resource for looking at the number of events as well as how many people were killed or wounded.  I would recommend spending some time with this before you used it in a classroom setting.

Medals Per Capita [Interactive Data]

When I teach the Sociology of Sport, I like to spend some time on global sport.  One thing that we always discuss is the relationship between a country's wealth, population, and success. What do these things have to do with each other?

Medals Per Capita is a great resource for this discussion.  You can use the list of the left to look at medals by population and GDP. You can look at just one Olympics or at many.




You could also easily use this as a discussion springboard in any lecture on Global Inequalities. Very cool site!

Urbanization - A Global Trend [Interactive Map]

This interactive map from the BBC shows the rise of urban centers from 1955 to 2015 (projected).

BBC Maps

You can use the slider bars to watch how the world has changed and to see interactive charts and figures.

Are the Winter Olympics for the Rich? [Interactive Graphic]

This Washington Post Graphic helps students to visualize the relationship between a nation's income and the number of medals that they nation wins. I like to use this to get students talking about winners and losers in sports? Is the winner always the most talented? Or maybe just someone who had more training, better equipment, etc.

Are Winter Olympics For the Rich?

Global Corruption [interactive map]

Transparency International has several tools that you can use to teach your students about political corruption.

One of the best places to start is with this interactive map.

You can also look at the data using the table below the map.and take a brief quiz to test your knowledge about political corruption. [My students always love taking these 'no stakes' sort of trivia quizzes in the classroom]

Comparing Countries [Data]

Whenever I discuss global inequality, I like to have students go online and compare nations. By finding the data themselves, they seem to invest more in the differences than if I simply gave them a chart.

Here are three great sites that you can use to help students compare nations.

CIA World Factbook

NationMaster

World Bank

#firstworldproblems [video]

When we are teaching global inequality, it is often helpful to put things in perspective.

First World Problems does just that.  People from developing nations read the tweets of people from developed nations--showcasing the disparities between what we really think of as problems.

>

This particular video is part of a campaign from Water is Life, but many similar videos and memes exist on the web.

Women's rights by country [Interactive Graphic]

Women's Rights by Country

Using World Bank and UN data, this interactive graph shows snapshots of legislation for violence, harassment, abortion, property and employment rights, discrimination, and equality by regions and countries.  Data is also available for download.